Digital subscriber line (DSL) based communication systems may be used to provide data, telephony, audio, video, television, image, computer and/or Internet based communication services to subscribers, such as, for example, homes and/or businesses (also referred to herein as users, customers and/or customer-premises). DSL technologies enable customers to utilize telephone lines (e.g., ordinary twisted-pair copper telephone lines used to provide Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) services) to connect the customer to, for example, a high data-rate broadband Internet network, broadband service and/or broadband content. For example, a communication company and/or service provider may utilize a plurality of modems (e.g., a plurality of DSL modems) implemented by a DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) at a central office, a remote terminal, a serving terminal and/or another location to provide DSL communication services to a plurality of modems located at respective customer-premises. For ease of discussion, DSL modems located in and/or implemented by a DSLAM (or similar equipment) are referred to herein as CO DSL modems even though such DSL modems and/or DSLAMs may, additionally or alternatively, be located at other locations (e.g., a remote terminal) used to provide DSL services to customer-premises. In general, a CO DSL modem receives broadband service content from, for example, a backbone server and forms a digital downstream DSL signal to be transmitted to a customer-premises DSL modem. Likewise, the CO DSL modem receives an upstream DSL signal from the customer-premises DSL modem and provides the data transported in the upstream DSL signal to the backbone server.
In DSL based communication systems, a DSL signal and a plain old telephone system (POTS) signal (e.g., a public switched telephone network (PSTN) signal) may be transported simultaneously (albeit using different frequencies) across a single telephone line. Splitters are commonly installed, employed and/or utilized at a customer-premises to separate a downstream DSL signal and a downstream POTS signal thereby substantially reducing the effects of telephones, ringing signals, home wiring, etc. on the reception of the DSL signal. Likewise, the splitters also combine an upstream DSL signal and an upstream POTS signal before they are transmitted across the loop from the customer-premises to the CO. Splitters are also commonly utilized to combine and/or separate DSL signals and POTS signals at a central office, remote terminal and/or serving terminal.
Today, some installations of DSL services at customer-premises locations employ so-called “microfilters” which are installed at each telephone jack within a customer-premises to perform the splitting function. For example, a microfilter can be installed between a telephone and a telephone jack to keep signals associated with the telephone (e.g., a ring trip signal) from interfering with the DSL signal. However, the use of microfilters can create bridged taps that can significantly degrade the performance of some DSL modems. Thus, while such distributed splitter arrangements often work sufficiently for asymmetric DSL (ADSL) services, they may be inadequate for higher data rate DSL services, such as very high-speed DSL (VDSL) services.
Other example installations of DSL services at customer-premises locations utilize a splitter installed in a network interface device (NID) located on, for example, the side of a customer-premises. In such examples, a separate wire (e.g. separate from any wire(s) used to carry the POTS signal within the customer-premises) is used and/or installed between the splitter at the NID and the location where the DSL modem will be installed. While such installations may be feasible for single-family residences (e.g., homes), they are often impractical for multiple dwelling unit (MDU) buildings such as, for example, an apartment building, a condominium building, a hotel, a motel, and/or a high-rise residential tower.